Do You Copy Paint Color
for House Painting?

Are you a copycat when choosing paint color for house painting? Find out why it's a bad idea to copy paint colors...

You don't wear your friends' clothes for many reasons - different sizes, body types and styles. Unless you don't mind looking ridiculous, you would tailor the clothes to fit your unique body.

The same goes with choosing paint color for house painting. You can't expect to use the same exact paint color you saw in your friend's house (and that looked sooo good!) in your own home with any amount of success.

Most likely, your friend has a different color palette going on. And even if her room color scheme looks similar to yours at a first glance, upon closer inspection you will notice different color undertones, intensities, proportions and placement of colors.

For example, you might both have beige carpeting and drapes, but hers will have yellowish undertones, while yours will be a tad pinky.

Her decor will look picture-perfect with that wall paint color, while yours will turn out funny.

Tiny nuances in color can be hard to see with an untrained eye, but they are the answer to most color coordinating dilemmas.

Besides, don't forget about the different sources of light in your and your friend's homes.

Her rooms might have a South-West exposure, making the wall paint color look bright and vivid. Your rooms, on the other hand, might face North, with a natural light that has a dulling effect on the wall color.

See "How Light Affects Interior Wall Paint Colors" for more info and tips.

Oftentimes all it takes to make a paint color work in your home is some tweaking - adjusting the undertone, shifting the intensity, or changing the value of the color. Explore this website further if you want to learn about different aspects of working with colors for painting and decorating.

When choosing color for house painting, always remember that a color that looks fabulous in one home can look just terrible somewhere else. It's ok to borrow interior paint color ideas, but make sure you customize all new colors first to fit the existing palette of your home.

See Also: